She's not Defenseless
by JezebelKanda
Summary: Haruhi's friend arrives at Ouran with her daughter. She ends up as a host and what's this? She can make Mori smile AND outwit Kyoya? rated T because I never know where a story will go
1. Chapter 1

Carmen Contreras wasn't sure she liked this school. It was so HUGE and PINK. It was like a pink black hole ready to swallow her. Not to mention they had terrible service. Imagine having to start classes TODAY and not get the uniform until TOMORROW. Really, what had they been thinking? Not that she minded much. She would get to go to school in regular clothing and that didn't bother her at all. She would enjoy showing people her 'true colors'.

If only she could find her way through the halls. She sighed heavily and walked down the only path she could recognize. It went around the school, with the fence on one side. She was admiring the white roses when she heard a very loud scream. Calmly, she kept walking in the same direction until she came to a little side gate. Two boys with grey uniforms had two girls in yellow dresses cornered. The girl's faces were red and one was crying.

"Come play with us, we promise not to hurt you." One of the boys said lecherously. The girl's backed up into the fence and wailed. The boys seemed to think this was a good thing and one even had the audacity to laugh.

She sighed and walked through the gate. "That's no way to treat a lady." The boys whirled around at the sound of her voice and glared.

"Shut it pipsqueak."

"Get lost before you get hurt kid." She smiled; maybe Japan wasn't as boring as she had thought. She went over the steps in her mind as she went through them physically. It wasn't hard, she was trained after all. Move forward, duck under the first one's arm, one fingered tap against temple, move on to the next and repeat. They were unconscious before they knew what was going on.

The two girls had stopped crying and were looking at their tormentors with awe. She dusted off her clothes and turned to go back through the gate. "You should get dropped off at the main entrance. There are more people and it's safer." Without another word, she went back into the pink black hole that was Ouran Academy.

As was typical of Ouran, by lunchtime everyone knew that two first years from the high school had been saved by a dangerous looking prince. Tamaki sighed dramatically and turned to his best friend.

"Mother, do you think that prince was the transfer from America? He's dangerous looking." said the dramatic king.

"Most probably, he seems the kind." The glasses wearing boy commented, looking at his screen. He was looking at the registration form of said prince with a very scary look etched on his handsome features.

The transfer student had been introduced as Contreras Carmen and excused for not wearing his uniform due to a backup on order shipments. Kyoya Ohtori slyly looked to the aforementioned 'prince'.

A pretty, thin face with full red lips, huge green eyes, pierced ears, and shoulder length light brown hair, this was someone to get into the Host Club. Contreras dressed strangely but fashionably. Black skinny jeans with a black leather and silver belt, a loose black t-shirt with a gothic angel sketched on the chest and a silver choker with emeralds the size of his thumbnail. Small silver crosses dangled from one ear and a lone emerald shone from the other. His hands were long and delicate, elegant.

Kyoya hastily looked away as Contreras glanced toward him. Contreras smiled and sent the girls in the class into a giggling frenzy. Kyoya watched as Tamaki dipped a girl and wondered, how long will it take him to realize Contreras Carmen is a girl?

Haruhi's day had gone well considering the twins sat on either side of her. She was a little tired but she was looking forward to the club today. Kyoya had hinted about a new tea and she wanted to try it.

She opened the door and froze. A whirling ball too big to be Honey had wrapped itself around her. The light brown hair in her face was definitely not Tamaki or one of the twins, so who was this? It wasn't until after she was released that Haruhi broke out into laughter.

"Carrie-chan! It's been so long. I heard you were doing well in California. What are you doing in Ouran, and here of all places?" Tamaki started crying.

"How can you say it like that, do you really hate it here that much?!" he cried despairingly.

"I missed my darling Haruhi all the time but Cali was really nice too. I met a bunch of family that I didn't know existed. And there were so MANY of them I ended up calling every one Ji-san or Oba-san and 'sweetie'" Carmen said dragging Haruhi to the nearest seat. "I brought you candy and a bunch of new recipes. I was in L.A. when I found the CUTEST dress and it just reminded me of you SO much I bought it. I'll take it to your house tonight, okay Imoto?"

"Onee-chan, how did you ended up here?" asked Haruhi, obviously ignoring the other host club members.

"Onee-chan?!" said everyone but Mori and Kyoya. Kyoya, because he knew, and Mori, because he never speaks.

"Of course, Carrie-oneechan is a girl. She's really pretty, how would you not notice?"

"Hmhm," laughed Carmen, "That blonde idiot should have asked the guy with the glasses. He knew the moment he had time to look up my file." Everyone turned to Kyoya and then to Carmen.

"Y-you know he looked into your files?" asked one of the twins with awe.

"Of course I did! I looked into his too." She turned to Kyoya, "I think we share a few contacts." Kyoya's mouth tightened into a razor thin line for a few seconds and then he laughed. Loudly. This girl was interesting.

"Let me introduce these idiots." He said," The lolishota is Haninozuka Mitsukuni; the tall one is Morinozuka Takashi. They are-"

"The heirs to two of the world's greatest martial arts empire. I followed them here."

"Then, there are the Hitachiin twins, Kaoru and Hikaru. Their mother is a famous designer. Suoh Tamaki is the 'king' of the club, I'm sure you know what his family is famous for. I am Ohtori Kyoya. If I may, where do you know Haruhi from?"

"We were neighbors and grew up together. I moved to California two years ago and have only returned now. I will be attending Ouran. My name is Contreras Carmen, by the way. Please take care of me."

"….You….. knew Haruhi….." Everyone turned to Tamaki, only Haruhi and Mori were wise enough to take cover (Though Mori took Honey with him).

"You must have TONS of pictures of HARUHI DRESSED AS A GIRL! I wanna see! Tell me what she was like when she was little, daddy must know!" The rant went on, and on, and on.

Everyone ignored Tamaki and questioned Carmen instead. They were getting ready for the door to open when Kyoya astonished them all again.

"Contreras-san, would you like to be part of the Host Club?" The other members were in shock. Kyoya had never ASKED someone to join the club. He had forced Haruhi to join but never politely asked. They would have had a heart attack but they were neither old enough nor fat enough.

"Why should I? What have I to gain from something like this?" asked Carmen

"More time with Haruhi, meeting prestigious families, and perhaps helping repay Haruhi's debt."

"Debt?" she asked looking at Haruhi.

"I broke a vase, a very expensive vase." She said apologetically.

"It's no matter for me to just pay the rest of her debt." Carmen said.

"I won't accept your money, Contreras-san, only your work." Carmen smiled.

"Well, the rumors are true then? You really are a conniving guy aren't you? I don't see why not. I will show up in a girl's uniform tomorrow and then everyone will know I'm a girl."

"The twins will supply you with a male uniform. The teachers won't really care as long as you wear a uniform."

"Mother! What kind of Host will Contreras-san be?" cried Tamaki, interrupting. "I'm the princely, Haruhi is natural, and the twins are little devil. Honey is the lolishota, Mori-senpai is the wild type, and you're the cool type. What's Contreras-san?"

"She will be the Untouchable type. Cool and calculated, flirty, sweet, but wild at the core. Now if you'll excuse me, I should get ready to open the doors. We'll announce your membership today so sit with one of the Hosts, please."

"Carrie-chan, sit with me and Mori." said Honey, already dragging her to his table. "You can hold my bunny, Usa-chan. Do you like cake? We ALWAYS have cake and cookies and ALL kinds of sweets."

"CAKE?" Carmen asked, eyes going wide.

"Oh, no." said Haruhi in the back ground.

"I LOVE cake, and cookies, and candy. My favorite is vanilla with strawberries and cream cheese icing, especially when the filling is raspberry jam."

"Yay! Hear that Takashi? Carrie-Chan likes cake!" Carmen sat at Honey and Mori's table and watched as they got into their positions.


	2. Chapter 2

The girls of Ouran were ecstatic. The mysterious and dangerous prince had joined the host club. They had taken one look at his piercings and his hair and his foreign eyes and flocked to him. Contreras-sama was a novelty, a sexy one. Even Renge was under his spell. She had sat with Honey and Mori for most of the club time and had moved to join Haruhi later on.

The girls had declared that there was a possibility for yaoi in the fact that they were childhood friends. Carmen had almost lost her hearing when she had licked the frosting off of Haruhi's cheek. She really just didn't want to waste food.

Tamaki, however, was spitting flames about it. Really, it wasn't like she was in love with Haruhi. Kyoya was satisfied, profits had almost tripled and he hadn't even sold any Contreras merchandise yet.

As soon as the club was over, the twins had handed Carmen a boy's uniform and pushed her into Haruhi's changing room. "Hey! Ohtori-san, Is it fine for me to keep my piercings? I had to take some of them out for class but can I put them back in now?"

Kyoya frowned and looked at Haruhi for an explanation but she was busy dodging Tamaki. "I don't see why not." Carmen came out and Kyoya almost cursed, then he remembered that Ohtori family members don't curse. Carmen had a nose piercing, a small emerald dot on the right side. She also had an eyebrow piercing, two silver dots on the left side.

"Is that all?" he asked, hoping it was.

"I have a tongue piercing and one on my belly button." Everyone was looking at her oddly, everyone but Haruhi that is.

"Oh, you got the belly button one when you did belly dancing right? I forgot. When are you getting the second ear piercing you wanted?"

"My birthday." Everyone looked at them like they were crazy.

"You want more piercings?" asked one of the twins.

"Just one more on my ear, then I'll be done and I can get a tattoo."

"Mother, Haruhi is friends with a delinquent!" cried Tamaki broken heartedly, "Daddy doesn't approve, and he can't!" Haruhi hit Tamaki upside the head.

"Carrie-oneechan isn't a delinquent. She's smarter than I am and athletic. She likes piercings and it's not like she's covered in them. She takes them out for class anyway."

"Sorry for not being a goody two shoes, Suoh. If you have an issue with my piercings it's your problem not mine." Carmen said frostily, used to getting bad reactions.

"…I think… they're nice." Everyone turned to Mori and gaped. He had been silent all day and now this.

"Yeah, they look good on Carrie-chan. Her uniform, Kao-chan, Hika-chan, can you personalize it a bit. That way it won't look funny."

"You're right, Honey. It would look weird for her to wear that with those piercings. Besides, they add to her untouchable image."

"You can put them in after school but you can't wear all of them for class, just a small one in each ear."

"By the way, Haru-chan, want to come over to my house?"

"Sure, I haven't seen oba-san in a while."

"My parents and siblings stayed in California. They would have missed their family too much."

"Oh. Ranka will be happy to have you back in Japan."

"Are you going to her house, Haru-chan?" asked Honey, jumping into Haruhi's arms.

"Yes."

"Can Takashi and I come? Please, please, please?" Honey made puppy eyes at Carmen.

"I don't see why not, unless it bothers you, Haruhi."

"It's okay."

"Yay! We can go, we can go!" The twins clung to Carmen's arms, they rubbed their faces against her cheeks.

"Can we-"began one.

"come too?" finished the other.

"I don't give a damn if you come or not, but touch anything and you will die a painful death."

" Mother! Carrie-chan is being mean!" cried one of the twins.

"That's because you are being rude. You just met her and already you want to go to her house."

In the end all of them ended up going to Carmen's house. It was small by the boy's standards but sweet and cozy, a harmony of expensive imported wood, bronze, glass, and stone surrounded by foreign flowers and plants that cost an arm and a leg to keep alive. Kyoya knew how much it cost to keep a place like this and was impressed. Clearly Carmen had old money and a humble elegance despite her scruffy personal style.

They were greeted by a little girl with raven like black hair and light caramel skin. "Mama!" she cried throwing herself into Carmen's arms. Carmen's eyes lit up and she smiled the most beautiful smile Kyoya had ever seen. It sent his heart into his throat and he found he couldn't breathe.

"Mama?" asked Tamaki softly, eyes comically wide.

"Everyone, meet Kiran. She's not my daughter biologically (so stop making that face Suoh) but I took her in when the orphanage she was in was destroyed in a fire. The government made a special exception of laws for me. Kiran, these are some people from school. Ohtori-san, Morinozuka-senpai, Haninozuka-senpai, the Hitachiin twins, Suoh-san, and Haruhi-chan, please be good to my little one."

Mori was the first one to get over his shock, bending down; he nodded at the little girl. He was afraid he would scare her; most children feared him and his size. "Hello, Kiran-chan, I am Mori."

"Mori-sama, you have nice eyes, like a poem mommy told me about worlds under water." Mori blinked and his face softened. Honey, who was watching smiled at his quiet cousin. HE could tell that Mori discovered something when Carrie-chan had smiled and something else when Kiran-chan hadn't been terrified of him.

"I'm Honey," he said stepping forward before any of the others could squeal about her adorable childishness.

"Hi." She said reservedly.

"Oh, gracious and beautiful princess, you are as radiant as the sunlight you are named after. My name is Tamaki, but you may call me Tamaki-papa." Turning to Haruhi, he said, "My darling daughter, I have found you a sweet little sister."

"Wouldn't that make you and Carrie-chan a couple?" asked Haruhi.

"NO!" cried Kiran, "Only a warrior can marry Mama, a real one not that fake." A chocking sound came from Tamaki as he started to grow mushrooms in a corner.

Kyoya leaned down and asked Kiran, "What kind of person would this warrior be?"

"A loyal, hardworking one. One who could grow plants and build fences and fight all the bad guys and not get scared when mama is sick. Or when mama gets angry and blows things up, he'd have to know how to ride a horse and take care of animals. And he could never, ever, ever lie to Mama."

"Blow things up?" asked one of the twins looking around as if they expected to see mounds of C-4 on the ground.

"I dabble in chemistry, it's part of the family business. Besides, Kiran is exaggerating, I don't blow stuff up."

"No, not stuff but the house needed major repairs." said the little girl sweetly.

"Shouldn't you be at drum practice?"

"Hai, Mama." Kiran waved at them and went up the main staircase, her small form disappearing into the mansion.

"She's my pride. Suoh-san, please stop growing mushrooms and get up, the maids hate cleaning up after blatant fools." Carmen turned to Haruhi, "Just wait until you try these cookies, they're the best.."

Mori couldn't breathe. There was a cool, sweet feeling in his chest. Carmen looked good dressed in her strange, rebellious style but she looked better in a dress.

She had changed into an informal white dress that ended at her knees, taken most of her piercings out and pulled her hair into a neat pony tail after getting Haruhi to try on some clothes she had brought her. Then she had led then to the garden where a maid had tea ready.

The change of clothes must have brought about a change in personality. She sat straighter, crossed her legs at the ankle, and spoke to them politely with none of the banter she had previously employed.

Kiran had rejoined them and sat next to her mama, embroidering flowers onto a square of silk. Haruhi adapted to the change of manner as if she had witnessed this before. The club however, traded quizzical glances.

"Tell me, Ohtori-san, have you ever considered a magical or Greek mythology cosplay? I'm sure many of the girls would enjoy it." She took a sip of her tea and grimaced.

"It might, but choosing a specific role for each of us would be difficult."

"Surely something like that wouldn't stand in your way." She turned to her daughter and asked, "Kiran, can you go ask Alexia for more honey, she seems to have forgotten it." When the little girl was out of ear shot, she asked, "Ohtori, actually I would like to know why you want me in the club."

The others stopped their conversations to watch them. "Simple, the girls of Ouran seem to have taken a liking to you and it is in to my advantage to keep you close."

"That doesn't seem to be the whole truth. You should know, as the head of my family, there will be days I cannot attend club and things I cannot do for the sake of those working for me."

"That is understandable." Kiran returned carrying a small pot full of honey. Carmen stood and brushed her skirt with a light hand.

"Do you intend to go with me while I visit Ranka or shall I ask someone to drive you home?"

"I've already called my driver." Said Kyoya

"We want-"said one twin.

"- to go with Haru-chan." finished the other.

"No. I haven't seen Carrie-chan for some time and Ranka will want to catch up. Besides, tomorrow is Saturday and I want Kiran and Carrie to stay the night. All of you go home."

They went but it took a lot to get Tamaki and the twins to get in their limos. Carmen suspected that at least one of the twins and Tamaki were in love with Haruhi, but they were too blind to see it.

Tamaki was an idiot. The rest of the hosts were dimwits to have gone along with him. Haruhi had awoken to a living room full of hosts. She groaned and wished she were back in bed. But, sadly, it was too late; Tamaki and the twins had already seen her and were squealing about how cute she was.

"Go away, Tamaki-senpai, If you wake Kiran Ranka and Carrie-chan will murder you."

"Is Contreras-san still asleep?" asked Kyoya, surprised. Carmen looked like an early riser.

"No, it just takes her an hour or two to get fully awake. Watch." Haruhi disappeared into her room and came back leading Carmen by the hand. Carmen's hair had turned to curls. One huge green eye peeked from under her bangs, her delicate hand rubbing the other sleepily. She wore a silky pink tank top over short black shorts trimmed in white lace.

She slumped into a seat next to Haruhi and leaned against the closest human, Mori. She snuggled against his shoulder and mumbled something. Her plump red lips parted and she sighed lightly, asleep again.

"Is she always like that in the morning?" whispered one of the twins.

"It's the complete opposite of Kyo-chan." murmured Honey, glancing at his confused cousin and his light, almost unnoticeable blush.

"I would ask you to breakfast but the rule is: whenever Carrie-chan is over, she makes breakfast." The talked for a few minutes before a quiet "Mama?" came from Haruhi's room. Carmen bolted up from her seat and rushed to the room.

"I'm here baby, it's okay, don't worry. See, we're at Haru-chan's house." She came back carrying a sleepy Kiran on one hip and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Kiran's light pink nightgown matched her mom's tank top and Tamaki, the twins, and Honey melted.

"Who was I leaning against?" asked Carmen and only Honey, Kyoya, and Mori looked at her.

"You fell asleep on Takashi, were you tiered?" asked Honey. Carmen blushed apologized to Mori, who just nodded. "

"Are all of you staying for breakfast? I make good American and Mexican style food." They were.


	3. Chapter 3

Kyoya felt stange. Maybe he was coming down with something. An angry, hot feeling was tightening his chest until he could barely breath. Mori was too quiet for his own good. Why didn't he push Carmen off? He probably enjoyed having her so close.

But, she had looked so pretty all sleepy and serene. And then she had gotten Kiran and she seemed to radiate sweetnes and care. Kyoya resisted the urge to shake his head. What in the world was wrong with him?

A plate was shoved into his hands and he looked down. Eggs drizzled with a tomato, cilantro, onion, and tomatillo salsa. Pulled pork with vegetable pieces and mashed red beans. HE blinked and looked at Carmen.

"It's mexican food, you spoiled brat. It's also really spicy so I hope you can handle it." Kyoya gave her a razor thin smile and looked around for utensils. "If you're looking for a spoon, fork, or chopsticks, you're out of luck. You eat this with tortillas."

His eyes went wide and he looked around to see how everyone was managing. Only Haruhi and Kiran weren't making a mess. Carmen laughed and tore a piece off of a tortilla. She used that piece to pick up a piece of pork and offered it to Kyoya's lips. He leaned forward and bit it out of her hand gently. His eyes went round. It was a riot of spices dominated by hot jalapenos. It was really good. Carmen smiled at him and he forgot to breath.

"I made pineapple water to go with it." She sid placing a pitcher full of yellow liquid next to them. She went around, showing all of them how to use their tortilla to grab food. Kyoya was smug. Only he had gotten fed by her.

The boys took Haruhi, Kiran, and Carmen to the park. Carmen would have refused but Haruhi had sent her a pleading look that she couldn't ignore. They had swung by her house to let her and Kiran change. Kiran wore a white and green salwar kameez and Carmen wore a white spaghetti strap dress with gold trim.

Kyoya had gone to stop the twins from torturing Tamaki and Haruhi and Honey was looking at flowers. Kiran was holding Mori's hand and smiling at Honey. Mori and Carmen were talking when out of nowhere a puppy raced by. A little boy came after him, ignoring his mother's calls. Carmen reached out and grabbed the little boy and puppy before they could run onto the street.

The boy's mother came to a stop next to them, gasping and coughing. "Thank you for catching Kei." She said between coughing fits. She stood and looked at Mori, then at Kiran, and finally back at Carmen. "It's good to see young parents be so responsible." She said taking the puppy and little boy from Carmen. Carmen coughed, realizing she thought Mori was Kiran's father. She watched the woman's retreating back.

"Mommy, what parents was she talking about?" asked Kiran sweetly.

"Nothing, sweetie. Do you want to go home? We can serve everyone ice cream and cake."

"Yay! Cake! Cake! Cake!" she cried jumping up and down. Carmen sneaked a peek at Mori, who's blush was receding and thought, he WOULD make a good father.

They did go to her house and everyone discovered something terrifying. Carmen could make cake disappear as fast as Honey. Kyoya personally thought Carmen was the reason Haruhi had never been surprised by Honey's cake eating abilities.

Kyoya watched Mori. For a supposedly shy guy, Mori was quite the friend to Kiran, going as far as to carry her and clean her up when she made a mess. Carmen, realizing Mori was busy, had taken over the care of Honey. They were acting like a married couple with children and Kyoya didn't like it.

Four months. That's how long Carmen had been in the host club. During that time, Renge the Mad Fangirl had started distributing fanfiction stories about the hosts. It was terrifying. Every word she spoke to Haruhi had hidden meaning as did her enthusiastic talks with Kyoya. Carmen was glad there was someone who could keep up with her schemes.

One day, Tamaki and Kyoya came into class with a smelly paper bag. It sported a blue sticky note with her name on it. Kyoya delicately placed it on her desk. "There are twenty of these near the entrance." She got up and opened it. Shit. Literal shit was inside. Carmen smiled and shook her head. She threw it away and walked out of the classroom. Yes, there were twenty other bags near the entrance. A small crowd had gathered to watch her. It was Mori who pointed out the faint ticking.

Standing stiffly Carmen said, "Mori-senpai, could you get everyone away? And maybe call my butler?" Mori did as she asked, confused but trusting her. He handed her a cell phone a few minutes later.

"Mistress? Are you all right?"

"Yes, Blake. How quickly can you get some of my more delicate instruments here? We seem to have at least four small timed bombs."

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

Club time was horrible. Most of the girls had seen Carmen deactivating bombs. They had told anyone who didn't see. AS a result, most of the girls were terrified of her.

"I heard they were all meant for him."

"My brother told me someone told him Contreras-san had some business with the Italian Mafia and it didn't go well." Carmen could tell that the boys wanted to refute all of this, to stand up to her but didn't know what to do.

So, before the doors opened, she mussed her hair, rubbed her eyes, and cried. The girls immediately notice it and swarmed.

"I-I'm sorry." She said, "I got all of you in danger. This is the reason I don't like to stay in one p-place too long. I l-like all of you so much it w-would k-kill me if you got hurt." Half of the girls melted at her words. The other half were almost to the melting point. "I-It's just that my company makes things for law enforcement and some people don't like that." That was it, they melted.

Kyoya sent her a smile and she winked, causing more than a few girls to squeal. Carmen almost cried for truth. She could see the beginnings of dirty fanfiction in the girls' eyes. After club, the boys and Haruhi attacked her with questions, only Mori kept quiet.

"Like I told the girls, my family manufactures weapons for law enforcement. You should know this Ohtori-san, your family buys from me. Next time any of you see something with my name on it, don't touch." Tamaki whimpered, realizing he and Kyoya had been in mortal danger.

"Never let yourself be approached by someone who says they are my employee or friend. Never believe anything they say. It will be a trap to get to me. You are all important in this world (yeah, even you Haruhi) and should know how it is for some families."

They promised to be careful, but afterwards, only Haruhi, Mori, and Honey visited as often as they had before.

About a week after the bomb incident, Tamaki came into class to tell Carmen someone had vandalized the walls around her house, he had seen it as he drove to school. Small incidents had begun to happen everywhere Carmen went. One day someone set a bomb under her limo, another time Haruhi said someone had followed her home. Carmen gave her bodyguards and stopped coming to school. Suddenly all attacks stopped.

After a month of silence, Carmen returned to school. That day, they were going to have a small talent show. Tamaki would play piano, Haruhi would recite poems, the twins would dance, Honey and Mori would do martial arts, Carmen would sing, and Kyoya would supervise.

Tamaki played well, Haruhi was good at choosing poems, the twins were great dancers. Mori and Honey were perfect. Carmen almost blew her cover as a boy. She left people crying and commenting on her 'clear, sweet, girly voice'. After club, they lazed about.

"Hey, Carrie-chan, didn't Haruhi say you could belly dance?" asked one of the twins.

"Yeah, Why?" Carmen asked uneasy.

"Would you show us?" asked the other twin.

"I don't have the clothes for it." said Carmen, looking at them suspiciously.

"We brought some from our mom's shop." they said and she cringed but took the bag they offered.

Carmen changed into a tiny gold, strapless shirt that went to just under her breasts, a long, flowing green skirt with gold embroidery, and delicate gold veils. She twirled into the boy's midst and began dancing.

It was hard work, and it left her sweating and panting, aching for a warm bath. The boys were clapping enthusiastically. The twins smirked and asked, "Carrie-chan, how do you hide your breasts? We thought you didn't have any." Carmen's mouth dropped open and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Kaoru, Hikaru! How can you ask something like that?!" screeched Tamaki. Haruhi hit them upside the head. "Actually, they're right; I thought you were like my darling Haruhi." said Tamaki as a note.

"B-baggy shirts are more comfortable…" was all she said before disappearing to change again.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: School started on the 12th of this month for me and I've had to get into overdrive as the teachers load us down with homework and different clubs take up my time. I'll try my est to post a new chapter at least once per week and once per weekend.

Mori's cell phone rang, urgently screeching the song. It felt as if a cold metal ball had dropped to the bottom of his stomach and he knew the call was a bad thing. He barely scanned the caller ID before answering.

"Kyoya."

"Mori-senpai, can you and Honey-senpai go to Contreras-san's house as soon as possible? Something terrible has happened and Haruhi couldn't quite explain. I think Kiran-chan has been kidnapped."

"Ah." Mori glanced at Honey, who had heard the whole conversation. Honey's face was grim and cold. The whole club knew Kiran was everything to Carmen. It took them less than a minute to arrive at Carmen's house and the sight was not pretty.

The gates were open and a small amount of smoke drifted into the sky, as if someone were grilling in the back garden. Past the trees lay a destroyed house. Not many windows kept their glass and some walls had been blown outward onto the front lawn, Carmen's car had torn up the yard in the driver's hurry to check his peer's wellbeing. Haruhi was nowhere to be seen but the other club members were standing around with shocked faces, listening to Carmen's driver, their own drivers grim faced and anxious to get their charges away from the smoldering house.

Their car stopped and Mori and Honey almost ran to the others. "What happened?" demanded Honey in a voice devoid of his usual sweetness.

It was Kyoya who answered. "Haruhi had gone home with Contreras-san. Apparently, they got here and the gate was open. No one answered their calls and Contreras-san just lost control. She raced into the house to look for Kiran but they haven't found her yet. They did however, find the maids. None of them are in good condition."

Honey looked at Mori wide eyed. Mori opened his mouth to say something but honey just shook his head and pointed at the empty hole that had once been a door. Mori ran in without looking back. The others looked at Honey, expecting an explanation but got none. After a few minutes, Mori reappeared, carrying Haruhi.

Haruhi's lip was bleeding and she had a growing bruise on a pale arm. Tamaki instantly started fussing over her, his dramatics subdued due to the situation. It was one of the twins who asked what had happened.

Haruhi looked away. "There was a man in there, one who wasn't on Carmen's payroll, one of the bad guys. Carmen….. she tore him to pieces the minute he touched me." She looked at them with wide, terrified eyes. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. "She's in pain and I can't help her. She's hurting so bad and the only thing I can do is keep out of her way. I've never seen her like this. She's never killed anyone before, she's terrified of blood." Mori, Honey and Kyoya shared a look. Carmen had gone berserk. She was temporarily dangerous to anyone who crossed her path.

"Has she found Kiran-chan yet?" asked Honey, solutions to the problem at hand flying through his head. Mori shook his head and ushered Haruhi into the nearest car with Tamaki and the twins, all of which had started to move away from the house the minute they had heard Carmen had killed someone.

"Tama-chan, Kao-chan, and Hika-chan, take Haruhi home and tell her dad what happened. Stay with her. Don't go anywhere. We'll call you if anything happens."

"W-what about our parents?" asked one of the twins.

"Tell them you're staying at Haruhi's but not why." said Kyoya, looking at the broken windows with worry.

"What about you?" asked Tamaki.

"I have to help her. I'm the son of the owner of many hospitals, I can help." Tamaki looked at his best friend and noticed the worry in his face, the need to help the girl who could beat him at chess without losing most of her pieces. He frowned but instructed the driver on where to go. This was going to be a long night.

If only he had known how right he was. Kyoya, Honey, and Mori had all gone inside the house. It was a complete wreck. This hadn't been about just kidnapping Kiran; it had been more about destroying everything Carmen had carefully built into her home, her refuge. They could hear shattering glass and the resounding cracks of breaking boards overhead. Carmen was desperately looking for her daughter.

Kyoya was the one who came up with the plan. "What," he said, "if we check the security control room? Carmen is smart, methodical, and very, very careful. She must have one. If any of the cameras are still intact, we can see what happened and maybe then we'll know who took Kiran."

"Carmen isn't okay right now." Said Honey, "When people do what she did, they are not okay. She'll destroy everything in her path without caring about laws until she finds Kiran or she dies."

"So what do you suggest?"

"Lure her into a room. Mori and I can keep her occupied. Seeing her care for Haruhi and since she didn't kill Mori when he took Haruhi, I'd say she's very conscious of her friends but not of other's. She could, however end up hurting us quite a bit for keeping her shut up. If we can get her to control herself a bit, then we can _really_ look for Kiran."

They followed both of their plans. Kyoya had Carmen's driver lead him to the security control room. They passed a room with human pieces stacked in a corner, the smell and sight sent him retching into a corner. The Driver handed him a rose scented handkerchief and Kyoya looked at it in horror. This perfect, soft, sweet thing belonged to the same person who had literally torn a man to pieces in a few minutes. The man's death contrasted oddly with the person who had so carefully carried Kiran and played chess for hours with him. One of the only people who made him feel special and beloved.

Mori and Honey had lured Carmen into a corner bedroom, one that was almost completely empty. Honey had closed and barricaded the door. He was afraid for Mori but he knew Mori was willing to do anything to stop Carmen's pain.

Carmen had seen the situation from somewhere deep inside a hole of despair and pain. She didn't register that Mori was a friend. He was standing before her, empty handed and alone. She turned but the door was closed. Her body, already at the limit from the sheer amount of psychological pain, attacked him.

The battle raged on. Carmen took refuge deep in her mind. Mori fought for the girl he wanted to protect. Kyoya watched their fight from the control room. Honey shuddered at the noise in the room behind him. Haruhi cried. Tamaki feared his love had been hurt by the pain in her friend. The twins were terrified of the beast their friend had become.

It was two in the morning when Mori lost the fight. He had been holding Carmen against his chest when she used him and the wall as leverage to break out of his hold and flip over him. She had landed with a knee against his spinal cord and a hand lightly holding his throat. If she wanted to, she could have killed him.

"Do you want to kill me?" Mori asked. Her silence meant nothing and he knew it. "Do you want to hurt me? Or Haruhi, or Kyoya, Honey, Tamaki, and the twins? The amount of pain you're in hurts us. It hurts so much, we 're ready to kill the people that made you hurt. Please, share your pain with us, don't let it destroy you. You'll never see Kiran again is you do." It was out of character, for Mori to talk so much. Kyoya, who had been watching every second, felt ashamed. He felt ashamed for having feared Carmen, for having wanted to run home and hide under his covers.

"No. No. I don't want my friends to hurt too." Carmen let him go and huddled in a corner, crying in great, body shaking sobs. Mori pulled her into his lap and held her, eyes closed. Kyoya's shame became the least of his worries, his jealousy growing bigger than any other sentiment. But he stayed where he was, watched in a sort of fascinated anger.

After a few hours, Carmen's sobs quieted into silence. Then she started to talk. Her words made Kyoya cry in pity. They made Mori slam his fist through the wall in anger, and they explained her life.


	5. Chapter 5

"Haruhi and I grew up together. She knows almost everything about me and I know her like the back of my hand. But she doesn't know that my whole life was a lie.

"My father is very much a sexist. He didn't want a daughter as his eldest, especially one who can pass off so well as a boy, one who he was forced to raise by his younger brother. My parents would have abandoned me had my uncle not intercepted. Every year he paid them for their care of me. They lied to me. They told me they loved me. "Her voice broke; it was hoarse with screaming and sobbing. Her red eyes searched Mori's face for a reaction.

"Everyone knew that one day uncle would die and I'd be his heiress, they were wonderful to me. When Uncle died, my parents convinced me to move everyone to America. It was alright there but I was continually alone. Family scared off everyone and my father hired bodyguards who didn't let anyone talk to me. I was a prisoner of my own family. One day halfway through my stay in California, I heard my family having a secret meeting. My cousins were complaining about having to spend so much time with me. My parents old them to suck it up, at least they didn't have to listen to my endless idiotic whining. They told them it might be hard to stand 'the bitch' but that the payoff was good.

I was enraged, I ran away and contacted my uncles many lawyers. I got emancipated. I took a sabbatical, started orphanage in third world countries. A month into my vacation, I started getting threats. I didn't pay attention. I really should have, though. The people who were preying on the orphans I took in were not happy about me taking their potential slaves away. They thought if they could make sure I wasn't around to fund the orphanages, they would close down." She winced at the new bruises on Mori's arms and face.

"I was kidnapped and kept in a hut in the middle of nowhere for weeks. They beat me, starved me, and did horrible things. I'm defiled. Dirty, defiled, and alone. I have scars in places where people don't normally have scars. They thought people would prefer a pretty slave rather than a scarred one." Mori let her go and paced the floor. Then he stopped suddenly and put a fist through the wall. In the control room, Kyoya's body betrayed him and a few tears slid down his face, imagining an innocent Carmen crying for mercy and freedom.

"When they thought they had broken me, they took me to another hut. That hut was full of children, all meant to be sold as slaves to people all over the world." Her eyes glittered and her fists clenched, cracking. For a moment, she looked like the heartless killer she had been a few hours ago.

"It sounds like something that could never happen but slavery is still very much alive. One of the children in the hut was Kiran. It was because of how attached to her I became that I got the courage to find a way to escape. We are both broken, Mori, broken in so many ways. We were abandoned by our families, unloved, alone. But we had each other Mori. I had my little girl and she had me, but now, now they have taken her. She's alone and scared and I'm sitting here, talking." New tears traced the path the first ones had carved.

"I have seen people die, have killed people to save her and myself. I thought we could forget everything in Japan, but our past followed us. They have her. It repeats in my head continuously. They have her and will hurt her. They have her. They have her. She's alone and I'm alone. We're alone again."

"What are you going to do?" asked Mori softly.

"I'm going to find her, and take her back, and destroy them. I'm going to take revenge for her, for me, for my people, and for my baby's breath. If you didn't notice, they destroyed them. "

She was afraid and hurt and so she was making jokes. Mori pulled her onto his lap again and hugged her close. He felt her body tense and then relaxed though she kept herself in the perfect position to break out of his hold without being stopped. Her heart was breaking and it hurt his to know that.

He held her and he could feel the hatred and jealousy coming from Kyoya. He didn't care, Carmen needed someone to comfort her, to hold her and tell her they would be there for her. And he was very willing to volunteer.

Haruhi was in pain too, only her pain was different from Mori and Kyoya's, much different from Carmen's. She had grown up with Carmen, had been comforted by Carmen when her mother died and had comforted her when Carmen's uncle had died. She had always known Carmen's parents didn't love her like they loved Carmen's siblings. And she had seen the pain in Carmen's eyes when she had first seen her at Ouran.

For a brief moment, she had been afraid of Carmen. She had seen Carmen tear a man's eyes out and had left the room, hearing his screams and cries for mercy. She had also heard Carmen's soft voice say, in a steely tone she had never heard before, "You didn't have mercy on us."

And now, beneath a warm blanket, she cried and trembled to think that for all the pain Carmen felt, Haruhi couldn't help her. And that hurt. She moaned softly, pain taking any real sound out of her voice.

"Haruhi, tell me about Carmen. About when you were young children together. Please, don't cry. It hurts to see you cry like this."

"It hurts to see Carmen like that."

She felt a warm hand squeeze her shoulder. "Kyoya is usually cold, I've never seen him so worried and separate to help someone else, I think he loves Carmen."

"Carmen was always so sunny. She smiled and laughed even when she got hurt. Once she tripped and fell and got cuts everywhere. She even had a cut on her hip that had to get stitches, but she never cried, not once. Her parents have always been strict on her and she learned to do most of the chores around her house before she was eight."

"When I saw her for the first time at Ouran, I knew something was wrong. Her eyes looked like she was going to cry. But not because she was happy. It never changed; only when she looked at Kiran did she look happy, really happy. She looked like she used to."

"I'm sorry you had to see her like that. I think she cares a lot for you and for Kiran. I think there's something about them that we can't understand. They look like people who have been through something traumatic together. "

"But I never knew. I would have done anything I could to help her. All I know is that there were ten months I had no news from her or from her family. When she called again, she wouldn't tell me where she had been only that she had taken in a little girl. And that she was different."

"Haruhi. I understand it hurts you to see Contreras-san like that but you have to understand it hurts me to see you cry. Please, calm down. I think Kyoya, Honey, and Mori can help her. I think we'll see her soon."

Haruhi pushed the blanket off of her face and sat up. Gratefully she gave Tamaki a hug. "Thank you, senpai." Tamaki blushed and hugged her back then returned to his assigned sleeping area.

Haruhi gave a watery smile and whispered, "Mom, can you see this? What should I do…


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: I haven't published for a while because I had an accident and homework piled up because of it. I just wanted to let you know that slave trafficking is REAL and that it's a big problem most of us don't even think about. So yeah, please be careful and vigilant, every port city is considered a slave trafficking port. It's sad but it's the truth.

Morning brought renewed pain, but it also brought some form of relief. Kyoya, Mori, and Carmen hadn't slept but they looked more rested than everyone else. Mori and Carmen had gone into her destroyed room and contacted some people. Kyoya had also tapped his sources. They met with everyone in Haruhi's house. The twins were cowards, they couldn't ignore what they knew Carmen had done to a man but they wanted to help.

At first everyone just stood around looking at each other. For the first time, the club members had noticed a difference in between them. Those who had stayed at Carmen's house the day before were the dangerous ones; the one's willing to endanger their lives to protect others. Those had gone to Haruhi's were the undecided, the fearful, the protected. It was Haruhi who broke the silence.

"How are we going to find Kiran?"

"You aren't." said Carmen, "Mori, Kyoya, and I are leaving for a while. I'll get her back and then you won't ever have to hear about me ever again. You can forget I ever existed."

The boys argued, especially Tamaki. Haruhi was indignantly silent. Honey just stood by silently; where Mori went, Honey went.

"This has nothing to do with you, it's my issue." It happened so fast no one could have stopped it. A crack split the air and Carmen was left holding her cheek in shock. Haruhi rubbed her palm against her pant leg, the slap having left it mildly numb. Tamaki laughed as everyone watched Carmen warily, expecting her, perhaps, to hit Haruhi back. Instead she cried,

"I should have known, Haruhi that you'd never go along with my decision. Not once in your life have you stopped to listen to me." The tears rolled down her face silently.

"Yeah, well, since when have you been smart enough to know anything about my reactions?" The two boyish girls hugged and let go, instantly making up.

"If Haruhi goes, I go." said Tamaki, ready to take on his grandmother for his friends. The twins looked at each other and shrugged.

"We're scared but if you are all going, you can't expect us to stay home."

The first thing that happened that day was breakfast at Mori's house. His mother had welcomed them all warmly, raising an elegant eyebrow at her son's bruises. The look he gave her made her regard the green eyed girl carefully before smiling. Her son's taste was exquisite.

The traditional Japanese breakfast had them ready to take on the world. They sat around and Carmen told them about the slaver, leaving out the part where she and her daughter had been in their captivity and telling them instead that they'd had a run in with the sons of beaches before.

"The only slaving headquarters I know are in Chad, a country-"

"In Africa." finished Kyoya, smiling at her.

"Yes." She said, "They send most of their slaves to somewhere in Mexico and then the USA. If I can get to one of my contacts in Africa, I can figure out where their Mexico headquarters are. If Kiran isn't in Africa or Mexico, she'll be in America."

"We can't just go to Africa for no discernible reason." pointed out one of the twins. The other nodded.

"Yeah, especially you. They'll know you're after them." said the other.

"We can say we're there to volunteer at an orphanage. Carmen-san can use a fake ID and a costume." said Tamaki wisely. Everyone looked at him with shocked expressions.

"Tamaki-san, that's not a bad idea." Haruhi patted him on the head affectionately and Carmen smiled, she knew who had been comforting her friend yesterday.

"I don't know if they'll buy all of my friends suddenly wanting to volunteer in Africa." said Carmen.

Honey spoke up, "We can all wear costumes and use fake IDs. I wanna be Lord Bunnymura!" Carmen smiled at him and felt her heart give a small shudder. He reminded her of Kiran.

"Are we all choosing our names?" asked Tamaki, returning to his overly dramatic persona, "Can I be Vittorio Amore?"

"Erin Smith and-" said one twin.

"Aaron Smith." said the other twin.

"I wouldn't mind being Theodore Cross." added Kyoya with a slight smile, trying to add cheer to Carmen's cool face.

"Cruz Santos." said Mori, having seen a Mexican soap opera with Carmen and Honey a while back.

"I change my mind." said Tamaki glomping Haruhi, "I want to be Amoru Corazon and Haruhi can be my wife, Haruhi Corazon." Haruhi tore herself from his grip and looked at Carmen for help but she was gazing out across the town, a sad and worried look on her face.

Thankfully, Carmen and Kyoya's underworld connections got them fake IDs and the club's parents felt it was an honor for their children to be included among the plans of the powerful Contreras family's head. They let the boys go with her without any unnecessary questions. Tamaki's father, the headmaster of Ouran even gave them leave to skip school for as many days as they wished. Even Tamaki's grandmother had nothing to say to them about the trip.

In two days, the whole club was on its way to Africa. They arrived in N'Djamena. The air was warm, the sun burning into their backs if they stood still too long. It was a good temperature for the middle of August. The children they encountered gazed oddly at these foreigners with pale skin and strangely colored hair. They were especially curious of Tamaki and Honey's hair and Carmen and Tamaki's eyes. They avoided the twins muttering about demons.

The women they saw avoided their eyes but murmured among themselves about the foreigner girl's wrap around skirts and embroidered shirts and the boy's extremely fine cotton robes and trousers. Men gazed at them with distrust until they disappeared into the gates of the three story orphanage.


	7. Chapter 7

Aouthor's Note: I can't speak French very well as I am currently in French 2. That means French will be a little limited. And this week was testing week so I ended up not posting for quite a while. Sorry (-_-)

The air in the clean Victorian was fresh and sweet. The few children the club had encountered were young, younger than Kiran, some were even babies. Their skin ranged from light caramel to dark chocolate and all seemed fascinated with the club members. The nannies that watched these children were mostly African, though some were obviously foreign.

Carmen led them through the corridors on the first floor, the sounds of children at work explaining where the older ones were. Up the stairs they went, into a brightly lit room full of small cots. Each was neatly tended and sat next to a plain brown chest of drawers. At the far end of the room were the only two people besides the club members. One was a short, frail looking old woman whose eyes and mouth were almost invisible under the sheer amount of wrinkles on her face. The other was a little boy, about seven years old who looked ill.

"Madame Axelle, I'm Carrie Jones." said Carmen, using the fake name her new ID used. Madame Axelle looked up from the boy and her face split into a smile. She patted the boy's head absently and gathered herself up.

"Mademoiselle Jones." she said, opening her arm's to receive a hug from Carmen. "I was expecting you. Are these the volunteers from Japan?" The old woman spoke in fluid French, examining the club as one would examine a particularly juicy piece of cake. Tamaki, however, failed to notice the look in her eyes and instead started hyperventilating.

*"Bonjour Madame. Je m'appelle Alois Alphonse. Je suis français mais j'habite au Japon. Est-ce que vous êtes Francaise ?" * Madame Axelle laughed and shook her head.

*"Non, ma petit.* The French are very involved in volunteer activities all over Africa. As a result, many people speak French." Tamaki's grin slid off his face but it was soon back. He had someone else besides Carmen and Kyoya to speak to in French. Haruhi nudged Carmen and she got the clue.

"These are the volunteers I told you about. Haruka Toji, Taoru Kisa, Inamoto Ren, Fujioka Yuki,Haruka Tenji, and Hiroshi Keniichi." she said, pointing to Kaoru, Haruhi, Mori, Honey, Hikaru, and Kyoya.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Said Haruhi, bowing to the elderly lady.

"The pleasure's all mine, follow me as I show you to your rooms. We're very sorry but we're strapped for space and you'll have to share three to one room four to another." The boys looked at each other with distrust, which one should be allowed to bunk with the girls?

Madame Axelle led them to two rooms in the basement. She excused herself and left them to figure out the sleeping arrangement. The minute she was gone, chaos took over.

"As Haruhi's daddy, I claim the right to share the girl's room!"

"No one can trust you, Boss."

"Yeah, it's too much temptation."

"I wanna sleep with Haru-chan and Carrie-chan!"

"Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy!"

"Can't trust you!"

"Honey is the oldest, he's dangerous."

"I wanna sleep with Carrie and Haru-chan!"

Kyoya's eye twitched. These idiots were getting on his nerves. Besides, no one could be trusted to sleep in the same room as the girls. He raised a hand to quiet every one when Mori spoke.

"Isn't it pretty here? Carrie, your skirt has a cute pattern. Are you going to dance again? I like it when you dance." Kyoya felt his face burn. How dare Mori say such things?! He looked to Carmen to see her smile softly.

"I had forgotten Mori-senpai hasn't slept yet. He is the most trusted, if you don't object, Haruhi, perhaps he should be the one to share our room?"

"I don't see why not, Mori-senpai is very dependable." The other boys glared at Mori who was too busy smiling at Haruhi and Carmen to notice.

Mori woke to a gray twilight. The room was cool, the soft hum of a fan droning behind soft breaths. He looked to one side and the breath caught in his throat. Carmen was asleep on a small cot across the room.

She was curled into a loose ball, hugging a plushy pillow to her face. Her lips were slightly parted, the worry and fear that had become a permanent feature on her face were gone. Her loose curls made a soft halo around her head. She wasn't covered by a blanket but it was warm enough that she didn't need it.

His sight skipped along her body until it came to rest on her toes. They were painted a skin color with small white dots for accents. She had a red line from the toe of her right foot to the ankle. The edges of the wound were clean and puckered, already healing, but he couldn't stop hating himself.

Why hadn't he noticed she was hurt? What if it had gotten infected and made her ill? A deep, burning hatred bloomed in his chest. He hated the people who had hurt her so long ago, the same ones who had taken Kiran and caused that injury.

Carmen clutched the pillow tighter and mumbled, "Mori.." softly. He looked up at her face again and the burning feeling dissolved. She was smiling, evenly breathing in and out. He suddenly knew, he would give anything to be next to this girl forever.

"I love you, Carmen…" he whispered softly, the sound barely reaching his own ears. "I'll never let them get away with hurting you, I promise." A Morinozuka never breaks a promise.

Carmen awoke with the sun. Their room was in the basement, the only window being a three by three rectangle near the ceiling. Across from her, Mori was asleep. His face was softer, unguarded and the way he was arranged made her want to take a picture.

Only one of his legs was still on the bed, the other was covered with the thin sheet that was the only necessary blanket during this time of year. He faced her but his chest was to the bed, something Carmen was glad of because he wasn't wearing a shirt. One arm was draped around a pillow, the other hung over the side of the bed. Someone, Carmen suspected the twins, had placed Tamaki's teddy bear on his behind.

Carmen decided to take the picture, after all, no one would know.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: I hate coastal California, the weather changes make me sick. (-_-)

The club quickly got used to the orphanage. They learned to care for the children and to use their free time looking for "Alex", Carmen's contact. This "Alex" was said to be a pretty girl who spent most of her time dressed as a boy. The club member's had to share a look; it seemed they were fated to only ever know cross dressing girls.

"When you see a cute guy with a dirty rag over his head and torn robes, do anything to check the back of their earlobe. If the 'boy' has a small round scar, it might just be "Alex". Say, today will never end if we don't die, if the 'boy' answers, tomorrow will never arrive if we give up hope, you have "Alex". She will lead you away from people, to a secluded spot where she will ask you how you know "Black Dragon". Answer her that black dragons don't exist but black roses are very common. If you forget the second counter phrase, you will be killed. She's very good at keeping herself and her people out of danger." Carman had looked at them intensely. Kaoru and Hikaru were intensely hoping neither of them were the ones to find "Alex". She sounded as bad as Carmen.

Today, Kaoru and Kyoya had been sent to a small market near the orphanage. Kyoya had adjusted to the native dress but Kaoru preferred his usual clothes, albeit with one small difference: they were made of extremely fine, light cotton. They got many strange looks for their obviously expensive clothing but they were left alone. A confrontation between Mori and Honey and some street kids had made it clear that the foreigners from the orphanage were to be left alone.

The market was a bustling place, full of people shouting in languages the boys didn't understand. Clothes booths were plentiful, especially the second hand booths. Kyoya took the basket Kaoru was carrying and pointed him to the nearest boule booth. Boule is a food staple in Chad, and something Tamaki had taken a liking to.

"You take the Boss' request, let me handle everything else." Kaoru made a monkey face and walked off, intent on making mischief for the poor locals.

Kaoru wandered aimlessly, buying fabric samples and taking pictures to send to his mother. He tried a fried dumpling, made of sticky dough fried in animal fat and drizzled in honey. He walked among the shoppers lazily; keeping a hand to his pocket at all times to make sure no pickpockets took what was his. He came by a small drink booth, one that catered to everyone, from those dressed well to a raggedy boy with a girly face.

He smiled at the saleslady, sending her into a giggling fit. The difference in language was no barrier; he pointed an appetizing drink and stood nearby as she made it for him. The raggedy youth turned away from Kaoru and left the back of his neck visible. Behind each ear he had a small red circle with jagged, bumpy edges. An icy shiver made its way up Kaoru's spine.

"Today will never end if we don't die." Kaoru said, hoping with all of his might that the 'boy' wouldn't answer.

"Tomorrow will never come if we give up hope." That's it, Kaoru thought, I'm going to die.

The woman running the booth handed him a thin wooden cup in exchange for a few coins. He winked at her half-heartedly and followed the pretty boy between two booths. "How do you know the Black Dragon?" Kaoru was sweating intensely, his stay in the Mojave Desert when he was six was nothing compared to this.

"Black dragons don't exist but black roses are very common." He twitched and hid his face in his drink cup. The 'boy' before him relaxed a little and nodded three times, two boys appeared out of nowhere and bowed low.

"Send Karen to me. Tell her I'm at the orphanage." The two boys melted back into a crowd and "Alex" turned to Kaoru. "Well, are you taking me to Carm-"

"Shhh! CARRIE is in the orphanage." Kaoru said, trying to silently tell her that Carmen was using a false name. "We have to find one of my friends first. We both know Carrie from school."

"Why is Carrie here all of a sudden? She hates Chad." Alex's voice was very controlled, almost robotic. Kaoru looked back at her as he led her through the booths. Her eyes were cold but sad.

"Her daughter was taken from her by her ex." It seemed that Alex understood because she growled and spit on the floor. Kaoru turned away. It was strange to meet someone who knew more about Carmen than he did.

The sun beat down on them as they looked for Kyoya, finally spotting him talking to a maize salesman. He turned when he spotted Kaoru and his eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to say something but ended up looking like a fish out of water. He realized what he was doing and quickly composed himself.

"I take it you are "Alex". Carrie has been waiting for you." Alex glared at him and motioned for them to get a move on. "Ah, yes she's in the orphanage. Please, come with us."

"How about you stop it with the rich boy talk and follow me. After all, I actually live here." Kyoya returned the glare.

It was midday when Kyoya and Kaoru returned to the orphanage. Carmen had started worrying about them when they hadn't returned quickly. She was waiting for them in the room she shared with Mori and Haruhi when they came to her. And with them came Alex. Carmen squealed and launched herself at Alex, holding on to her for dear life. She didn't notice when she started crying or when the boys left the room so that the two old friends could have some privacy.

"There,there. Why is the mighty black dragon crying? Who was it that told me never to show pain before others, hmm?" Carmen looked into Alex's face and hiccupped.

"They took Kiran, the same people who had us. You know what they'll do to her better than anyone else; you went through the same thing."

"How does any of that explain getting those two rich boys involved?" asked Alex, mildly disappointed with Carmen.

"First off, they wanted to come, especially the one with the glasses, and secondly, those two aren't the only ones, there are five more."

"Five! Who was it that told me never to involve idiot just because they thought it was cool to be in a secret organization?! What are you thinking?! There are hundreds of people at your disposal and you choose to bring pampered rich kids into this?" Carmen wiggled uncomfortably but felt the beginnings of anger stir in her.

"They are from powerful families that can help me. Two of them can take out an army by themselves and the glasses guy has just as many contacts as I do. The only girl is my childhood friend. They matter, they want to help me no matter what happens."

"Not to be a bitch but that's only four people, what about the other three? When they see someone killed, are shot at, or realize some unpleasant things, they'll run away."

"One of them is in love with my friend, the other two are cowards but they will do anything for their friends. Are you angry because they aren't street kid and ex slaves or because they're just as rich as the man who owned you? Don't be a bitch, Alex." Carmen's voice got low and grave, as cold as ice. "If I have to beat you down until you give me information, I'll do it. Don't argue with my, my flower, I will do anything to get Kiran back. Anything, even if it means hurting you."

Alex took a step back, worry flashing in her eyes. She had seen this side of Carmen before and had had to tie her down with enormous metal chains in order to control her. She knew if she pushed far enough Carmen would go berserk again. She looked Carmen over, noting the two small, fading bruises and a thin cut on one tiny, elegant foot. Alex wondered who had controlled her, to have taken such care as to avoid covering her in bruises.

"Fine. Fine. Maybe I am being too judgmental. Tell me what you need, just don't expect me to get along with any of them." Carmen sighed, hugged Alex in thanks.

"Thank you, Alex."

Kyoya was irritated, so very, very irritated. Alex was a damn pervert. She had changed into some of Carmen's clothes and she looked really good. He hadn't noticed how beautiful she was. Her skin was the color of coffee well lightened with milk, her hair a raven black that fell in cascades down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were mischievous, a reddish brown much darker than the twins'. However beautiful, she was she was still a pervert.

She was sexually promiscuous, kissing Carmen on the mouth full on, groping Haruhi, and winking at Mori when Carmen introduced them. And that was something Kyoya couldn't deal with. Just to make the whole thing clear, ALEX KISSED CARMEN ON THE MOUTH AND WINKED AT MORI. What parallel world had Kyoya accidentally entered? The stoic type did NOT get many customers without Honey and now all the girls were gravitating toward him. Just what was going on?


	9. Chapter 9

Things went by much faster now that Alex had been found. Alex was really perverted, mean, vulgar, and often, foul mouthed. She had taken over a corner in Carmen's room and was to be found there from morning until night, ordering reports, mapping the human trafficking chain that had caught Kiran in its links. When she gave reports, she became someone else entirely, serious, cool tempered, concise.

Kyoya had trouble keeping up with her sometimes. Mori had seen her and Carmen spar, he and Honey had been amazed at the way she moved so fluidly. The twins were terrified of her but felt pulled to her; their mischievous calling out to hers. In a week, she had compiled enough information to fill two large cardboard boxes.

One day, she asked Kyoya to go with her to an information drop. There, they would meet with one of her oldest spies, a trusted retainer from Carmen's slave days. Kyoya would take the information given to them from a safe spot and she would deal with the spy face to face. This spy was, Alex told him, infiltrated in one of the many slaving pens and could be found out at any time. This meant that Alex would need him to pay close attention to the spy while she took care that no one was trying to attack them at an inopportune time. Kyoya was eager to go. He wanted to ask a few questions about how Alex and Carmen had met and why Alex seemed to hate the club.

She came for him at midnight. They both dressed in dirty, tattered rags. Kyoya had to make sure none of his body was visible; if anyone saw any of it, they would know that the mysterious new street rat was one of the foreigners from the orphanage. Once they were concealed enough to fit Alex's taste, Alex gave Kyoya a small metal object with two buttons. One had triangle turned on its side, the other had two sticks. They were the universal signs for play and pause.

"Follow me and keep quiet. I don't want to hear one word come out of you. Chad is a very poor country and someone is always on the lookout for more ways to make money." Kyoya nodded and followed her out the back door of the Victorian, wondering when he would see it again.

They walked through the semi-empty streets. The air was hot, with plenty of moisture in the air. A few booths were still open in the market, which operated at all times. Laughter, sleepy talk and the smell of dough and sugar fried in fat drifted towards them. They were silent, staying out of the merry light cast by the booths and ancient houses around them.

Kyoya privately thought this part of town smelled of exhaustion, like a patient he had seen at one of his family's hospitals in South America. The man had died of a heavy lifestyle. Too much drink; too much sorrow, too much sweat. That was what this part of the town smelled like to him. Kyoya longed to walk in clean, fine clothes, to walk in the light that the decrypt houses around him provided.

He didn't know how long they walked; only that he was tired and wanted with all his might to go back to his bed. Alex finally stopped him and he noticed they were in an alleyway of sorts. There was a mountain of rocks and broken brick, the same things the houses around them were made of, piled in a corner. It reached close to the closest roof.

"Kyoya," said Alex, not noticing him frown at the use of his first name, "I need you to climb up that pile and onto the roof. If anything happens, you keep quiet until either I'm dead and whoever came leaves or I tell you to move. If I get hurt, slide down the other side of the roof as soon as they're gone and go to the hut next to the booth to your far right. Knock in a pattern of four two four and walk in. Tell them I'm gone and that they know what to do. The minute you see someone walk my way, you turn that thing on. You better not fall asleep on me."

Kyoya did as he was told. He didn't have to wait long before a small form came down the alley. By their silhouette, it seemed to be a young girl, of about their age. He immediately pressed the play button and waited eagerly.

"Fatima, how have you been?" asked Alex in a motherly tone. It was too dark to see the two girls clearly but a soft rustle of fabric told Kyoya that they had embraced.

"Fine, maman. I don't think they have noticed that they have had no news from the pens in the southern division. Your children always do so well. But, then, we are so fortunate to have the Order on our side."

"About that, I'm here on Order business. I'm tracing a young girl, an ex-slave who was recently taken from a mansion in Japan. Her name is Kiran and she's five. She's the adopted daughter of the Black Dragon." There was a sharp intake of breath from the girl.

"T-_THE_ Black Dragon? The founder of the Order?! But how, anyone who is under her protection is untouchable!"

"That was Japan we're talking about. She was living there under assumed names; no one knew she had the child there. It was timed so that none of our important people were there. It was an inside job."

"There are so many children. The bastard who thinks he owns me bought six little girls, all under the age of ten for himself last week but none of them match your description. One of them did mention a Kiran, one who kept saying her mama would save them. She was with the shipment going to Mexico."

"Good job, Fatima." There was the sound of plastic being bunched up in one hand and the conversation continued, "I'll bring you more next week. Remember to get it to as many girls as possible." Kyoya had the feeling the meeting was almost over.

"Please, take those girls. Please, mama. They're so young. They-" her words were cut off by the stamping of feet and the heavy breathing of runners. The next instant, the alley was light up by torches and Alex had to cover her eyes with one arm. Kyoya blinked and slunk back a bit, watching helplessly as six large men advanced on her, Fatima nowhere to be found.

…

Alex settled herself into a fighter's crouch. The man closest to her launched themselves at her and she retaliated by ramming her fingers into his eyes, curling them and yanking them out in one fluid motion. The man screamed and fell, clutching at his bloody, empty eye sockets. Bile rose in Kyoya's stomach and he fought it down, remembering what Carmen had done to the man in Japan.

It was a swift fight, though Alex did take many hits. The minute the last one dropped, she scrambled up the pile of debris and pulled at his tattered robe. Together, they slid down the roof and into a narrow street. The only salesman in the whole street looked away when he heard them drop and finished packing his last few utensils. He had unsold fried dough balls on a thin kerchief, which he handed to Alex, still avoiding their faces. Alex grimaced and passed them over to Kyoya, leaving bloody streaks over the cloth and his hand. Alex knocked on the walls of the hut in a pattern and walked in, holding the door open for Kyoya to pass through before closing it softly.

The inside of the hut was sparsely furnished, only containing a hay filled bag mattress, and a low table. An old man beamed at Alex an Kyoya, his wrinkles and toothless mouth unnerving Kyoya, who had only ever seen well cared for elderly people. Alex ignored the old man and pushed the mattress away from its spot with extreme amounts of force. Veins on her neck and forehead popped into definition. Her face went a crimson tinted brown and Kyoya hastened to help her.

Together they moved the mattress and lifted the perfectly concealed trapdoor underneath. They jumped into the dark hole below and watched as the elderly man closed the door overhead. Kyoya sighed wearily and whispered, "Want a dough ball?"

He heard Alex snicker to his right. "Sure. Just so you know, if you start panicking, I'll have to kill you."

"Why would I panic?"

"First off, we'll be her until morning; secondly I think you're in shock from seeing someone get their eyes torn out."

"I've seen what happens when Carmen tears a man to shred, when someone betrays the confidence of my favorite contact, when my family's hospitals have to attend to emergencies. I'm not claustrophobic, or afraid of the dark. I think I'll be fine." Alex laughed softly.

"I should have known that one crazy rich person attracts more crazy rich people."

"Is that why you hate us?" asked Kyoya, "Because we have privileged lives and didn't have to expose ourselves to the dark underbelly of civilization if we didn't choose to?"

"What do you care?"

"I care because Carmen is dear to me- to all of us at the club and want to get along with those from her past, present and future."

Alex laughed again. "I'd give up that crush you have on her if I were you. She'll never see you as anything more than a friend." Kyoya blushed in the pitch darkness.

"What do you know?" he growled, making Alex laugh again.

"I know her and I know the way she looks at Morinozuka, even if she doesn't yet understand it herself."

Kyoya angrily shut his eyes, and counted to one hundred, trying to stop himself from imagining Mori killed. He sighed once he reached one hundred and sixty. "How did you meet Carmen?" he asked, trying to change the subject to something more cheerful.

"She saved me from death." And Alex refused to answer anymore of Kyoya's questions.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey everyone,

I would like to apologize because I've been absent but I found out I have leukemia and I stopped writing. I'm back now and I'd like to let you know that I will NOT die. I refuse. Thanks to my supporters and to my BFF Rosa, cause, honey, you're my hero.

Gomen,

Jezebel


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